So, I believe this is the right section for this question.
Hear me out. Strictly speaking from a roleplaying aspect, how would one go about playing a nightwalker as their character? To me, I would simply say it mimics the person it replaced so well that all stats and abilities are a mirroring of the creature stuck in the negative plane. Most DM's I am sure would turn their noses up at this idea and I get why. It's tough putting monsters as playable races usually. I just think the idea of a player being replaced by a Nightwalker and no one being the wiser would be...interesting?
How do we feel about this? Do we think it can work? Would the creature just want to go around killing too much? From the book Mordenkainen Presents:
"Generally, a nightwalker on the Material Plane is attracted to elements of the world associated with the creature responsible for its creation, which can provide clues as to who the trapped creature is. This attraction doesn't indicate a willingness to engage with the world, though; nightwalkers exist to make life extinct, and they prioritize anything associated with the trapped creature for destruction."
This leads me to believe the creature would just ago around killing and not really play the part of a creature hiding amongst the sheep.
Lookin up the statblock... I think the biggest problem with playing them as a PC is the fact that they're Huge and they have a passive aura that just constantly outputs damage against any creature within 30 feet of them.
There are other creatures that you can more easily explain replacing a PC without the other players realizing it. Why do you want this for a Nightwalker, specifically?
Okay, I can see where the confusion comes from. I was focused just on their statblock and didn't read their lore info thoroughly. From what I can tell, the intent isn't that the Nightwalker emerges and impersonates anyone who enters the Negative Plane, but rather, that entering the Negative Plane causes a Nightwalker to spawn, at which point it functions as kind of a really complicated lock that traps that creature in the Negative Plane, but otherwise it just starts destroying anything associated with the creature that accidentally summoned it.
What you seem to to looking for is a Doppelganger, which is similar enough to the playable race of Changeling you could use changeling race stats and say that your Doppelganger; the main difference between the two is that Doppelgangers can read the surface thoughts of creatures so that it can better learn to mimic the victim before taking their place. Some DMs are adverse to Changeling characters (they can be OP in intrigue campaigns especially) but are likely the most balanced way to play the "Imposter" role.
So, I believe this is the right section for this question.
Hear me out. Strictly speaking from a roleplaying aspect, how would one go about playing a nightwalker as their character? To me, I would simply say it mimics the person it replaced so well that all stats and abilities are a mirroring of the creature stuck in the negative plane. Most DM's I am sure would turn their noses up at this idea and I get why. It's tough putting monsters as playable races usually. I just think the idea of a player being replaced by a Nightwalker and no one being the wiser would be...interesting?
How do we feel about this? Do we think it can work? Would the creature just want to go around killing too much? From the book Mordenkainen Presents:
"Generally, a nightwalker on the Material Plane is attracted to elements of the world associated with the creature responsible for its creation, which can provide clues as to who the trapped creature is. This attraction doesn't indicate a willingness to engage with the world, though; nightwalkers exist to make life extinct, and they prioritize anything associated with the trapped creature for destruction."
This leads me to believe the creature would just ago around killing and not really play the part of a creature hiding amongst the sheep.
Lookin up the statblock... I think the biggest problem with playing them as a PC is the fact that they're Huge and they have a passive aura that just constantly outputs damage against any creature within 30 feet of them.
There are other creatures that you can more easily explain replacing a PC without the other players realizing it. Why do you want this for a Nightwalker, specifically?
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
They just sounded neat and I might have misunderstood them replacing a person. I didn't realize they didn't change shape when they replace a person.
Okay, I can see where the confusion comes from. I was focused just on their statblock and didn't read their lore info thoroughly. From what I can tell, the intent isn't that the Nightwalker emerges and impersonates anyone who enters the Negative Plane, but rather, that entering the Negative Plane causes a Nightwalker to spawn, at which point it functions as kind of a really complicated lock that traps that creature in the Negative Plane, but otherwise it just starts destroying anything associated with the creature that accidentally summoned it.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
What you seem to to looking for is a Doppelganger, which is similar enough to the playable race of Changeling you could use changeling race stats and say that your Doppelganger; the main difference between the two is that Doppelgangers can read the surface thoughts of creatures so that it can better learn to mimic the victim before taking their place. Some DMs are adverse to Changeling characters (they can be OP in intrigue campaigns especially) but are likely the most balanced way to play the "Imposter" role.
I write homebrew and don't publish it. (evil, I know)